Flash and Tripod Thoughts?

Wfpinky

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I still feel like I'm a newbie to photography, but I'm really starting to get curious about speedlights since I shoot inside quite a bit with my Nikon and I'd like to shoot at night more. What little research I've done on them has delivered an overwhelming amount of information (which is why I haven't done a whole lot of research). I know there's a big learning curve when it comes to flashes, but I'm definitely willing to learn. I'm a working college student, so I can't shell out a ton for one unfortunately, but if you guys wouldn't mind pointing me in the right direction of what I should at least look at getting I could start saving. Or even better, if anyone knows of a site that sells second-hand ones for a decent price I'd appreciate that as well :).

This also applies to tripods as well, any input would be awesome. Seriously, I'm a total newb haha.
 
Adorama, B&H, and KEH all sell used equipment.

If you want to save money, get an inexpensive speedlight and tripod. Eventually you should think about mounting the flash on its own light stand (getting it away from your camera) and a shoot-through umbrella.
 
What kind of subjects and situations are you working with and what's a rough overall budget that you've got in mind to work with.

Giving an idea of the subjects and situations you want to work with/in is key - indoor and nighttime as subjects are far to broad for us to really know what it is you're wanting to take photos of so its hard to suggest ideas as to solutions and equipment to solve problems your encountering.

Similarly a rough idea of budget helps a lot in giving a starting point for equipment suggestions.

It might well be that either a tripod or a flash could solve most of your issues - meaning you could dedicated all your budget to a higher quality single option - or that your estimated budget is way below what would be needed to get decent options in one or both of the rough categories.
Further it might show that there is something else within budget that could help you out even more so.
 
Check out some of the new import flashes before spending too much for an old used film flash (that can only do manual flash with iTTL digital cameras).

For example these, for Manual flash or iTTL flash
 
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I'd absolutely consider a used tripod, but with the prices of some of the new 3rd-party flashes these days, I'd go that route vs. buying a used flash. I've been very happy with my Yongnuo 568 for the last year and a half or so, and the Pixel Mago I'm playing with now has even more features for less than $100. Pretty nice. I understand they'll have a version for Nikon before too long, but in the meantime, the Yongnuo would be a good buy.
 
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Thanks for the input everyone! You've all given me numerous things to look into. Overread, I shoot a lot of kids and pets at the moment. My budget is kind of up in the air right now, but I should be hearing back soon on some things so I'm hoping I'll have a better idea of what I really have to work with. But I like the idea of maybe choosing one or the other and getting a higher quality piece of equipment, never thought of that!
 
To me Kids and Pets suggests lighting first and foremost. A tripod is good, but these are very mobile subjects and at least one of which you've no direct control over, a tripod can offer stability, but with this kind of subject you've not easily got the control to pause them and fiddle with a tripod. Better to have at least one or more lights/modifiers and then control the lighting - then you can move the camera and lens around as needed.
 
Overread I was starting to lean more towards investing in a flash first, tripod later. After reading your response I think that's what I'll definitely be doing. Thank you!
 
If you get a flash don't get a third party one. Buy a decent one and it will last a lot longer.

Tripods are always a good thing. I use my tripod way more often than I do my flash.
 
Tripods are the worst thing to go cheap on. And by cheap I mean quality, not price. There are some fair priced tripods that are sturdy and affordable. Stay away form the crap that they sell at WalMart is what I am mostly saying. Slik and Dolica come to mind as some companies that have a good value proposition. A tripod can do more than just hold your camera. You can make it a flash stand, use it to holder a reflector and more.

I on the other hand disagree with runnah about the flashes. Yongnuo, Meike, and Metz and many others make excellent 3rd party flashes and have a range a prices and qualities. A cheap tripod could drop your camera and I've read the stories and had some close calls. I've never heard of a 3rd party flash hurting a camera.
 
Tripods are the worst thing to go cheap on. And by cheap I mean quality, not price. There are some fair priced tripods that are sturdy and affordable. Stay away form the crap that they sell at WalMart is what I am mostly saying. Slik and Dolica come to mind as some companies that have a good value proposition. A tripod can do more than just hold your camera. You can make it a flash stand, use it to holder a reflector and more. I on the other hand disagree with runnah about the flashes. Yongnuo, Meike, and Metz and many others make excellent 3rd party flashes and have a range a prices and qualities. A cheap tripod could drop your camera and I've read the stories and had some close calls. I've never heard of a 3rd party flash hurting a camera.

I agree on the tripod front. A sturdy well built tripod will last for decades.

I think the flash issue is certainly up for debate. I am a big fan of using first party flashes for the quality and the features.
 
Silk appear to be making a series of affordable and yet stable tripods for lighter DSRL setups - ideal for beginners and those with a less weighty camera system. You can also find a lot of tripods selling for cheap second hand prices on ebay, where the only likely downside is that they will be heavy (which is a good thing stability wise).

Certainly avoid the ultra cheap options. There are a lot of very light weight aluminium tripods which are not only far too light to give proper stable support, but are also badly made (the panning arm on most will easily unscrew and a fault in the design causes the internal nut to drop so you can't screw them back in - we've had 3 or 4 of this design by various companies and all went the very same way - you can't even fix it as the unit is a sealed plastic affair so you can't get in without cracking it).
 

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